In the past, asbestos containing materials have been used to insulate pipes and valves in chemical processing plants, commercial and residential buildings, and in other installations requiring insulation and fire resistant coverings. It has now been documented that exposure to asbestos may lead to cancer. Cancer-related maladies linked to asbestos are generally classified into five different categories, including asbestosis, a type of pulmonary disease caused by inhalation of asbestos-containing dust; pleural disease, which relates to changes in the pleura (the membranes enveloping the lungs and pleural cavity) caused by inhalation of the asbestos fibers; lung cancer; mesothelioma, a form of cancer of the pleural and peritoneal cavities; and other cancers such as laryngeal cancer and cancer of the gastrointestinal tract. Since the discovery of the cancer-causing propensities of asbestos-containing materials, efforts have been made to eliminate sources of asbestos fiber pollution of ambient air.
Asbestos, a fibrous form of magnesium and calcium silicate ore, is a friable material which may release microscopic fibers into the air. This presents a health hazard to workers responsible for removing asbestos-containing insulation materials. Consequently, elaborate provisions and regulations have been enacted to control the removal of these materials to minimize risk to workers.
The use of protective bag assemblies for isolating asbestos-coated conduits and/or protective clothing, including face masks to prevent inhalation of air-borne fibers, have become mandatory accessories for workers involved in removing asbestos-containing insulation.
In order to comply with the established regulations, assemblies have been devised to prevent the propagation of these contaminants into the atmosphere. In this connection, numerous waste removal systems have been designed utilizing a glove bag concept. One such glove bag removal system includes a detachable bag which sealingly encompasses a section of a pipe to be cleaned. A pair of specially shaped flaps are secured to a longitudinal axis of the pipe to form a circumscribing sleeve portion about the pipe. The bag also includes an internal tool pouch and inwardly extending armholes to permit a user to strip the fibrous material from the pipe while remaining isolated from the asbestos-containing materials. A lower portion of the bag collects the removed contaminant material in a separate collection compartment, and the collection compartment is then sealed and removed from a reusable upper portion of the bag.
In order to prevent escape of particles from a glove bag, a more recent improved glove bag includes an inlet for a vacuum probe which is inserted into the bag to maintain the interior of the bag at a negative pressure during removal of the waste material. The negative pressure gradient ensures that the airborne contaminants are captured and removed by the vacuum probe. Such glove bags also typically include one or more openings for water spray lines or water nozzles as an extra safety precaution for making the material less friable by wetting it down.
There are various problems associated with the use of glove bags in association with high temperature asbestos-insulated piping. Most importantly, the glove bags cannot be effectively used on pipes that have a temperature in excess of 150° F. In certain circumstances, the outer asbestos insulation covering (lagging) of the high temperature piping will have hot spots thereon (caused by fractured insulation) which will tend to melt the glove bag and impair the integrity of the glove bag. In other circumstances, the temperature of the outer asbestos insulation covering (lagging) of the pipe will prevent the adhesives associated with the glove bag from effectively adhering to the surface of the high-temperature piping. In all circumstances, the high temperature (up to 1000° F. for steam lines) will melt the glove bag once the insulation is removed and the surface of the pipe is exposed for the installation of the inspection port. As such, a need has developed in which glove bags can be used in association with high temperature piping for the removal of asbestos therefrom.
Additionally, in the past, asbestos removal from piping has involved the entire removal of the asbestos from the surface of the pipe. In these circumstances, the removal of asbestos is a very expensive and time consuming procedure. In certain circumstances, the process associated with such piping must be shut down during the asbestos removal. Often, these complete asbestos removal projects are carried out even though only small inspection ports are required to satisfy the needs of regulators. The entire removal insulation of asbestos from the surface of a pipe is time consuming, expensive and requires a great deal of personnel.
It is often desirable to install inspection ports on insulated piping. In many process industries, a large variety of pipes extend throughout the interior of the industry. Ultimately, the material associated with each of the pipes needs to be identified, monitored and maintained. In other circumstances, ultrasonic sensors must be installed in certain areas along the pipe so as to monitor the condition of the piping and possibly monitor the flow of materials within the piping. Still, in other circumstances, positive material identification is required for the various pipes which run throughout a particular process industry. Whenever positive material identification is required, a portion of the insulation of the piping must be removed so as to allow access to the actual material of the piping. The piping should be inspected for the quality of the material used for the pipe and also the condition of the material. Under past regulations, it is necessary to remove all of the asbestos insulation from around the piping in order to carry out positive material identification. Since the procedure is extremely expensive, various delays have occurred in complying with environmental regulations associated with such positive material identifications and associated with such asbestos removal. As such, a need has developed for the ability to install inspection ports without the need for shutting the process or without the need for removing the entirety of the asbestos insulation extending around the piping.
In the past, various patents have issued relating to glove bags and asbestos removing activities.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,242, issued on Sep. 15, 1992 to R. E. Lowe, Jr., shows a hazardous waste removal that has a generally rectangular flexible bag having a front panel and a back panel joined at a lower portion of the bag to form a collection chamber. The bag is sealed such that it is impermeable to dust and other particulate matter. The assembly also includes at least one glove sleeve fashioned through the front panel of the bag to permit an operator to remove asbestos from a segment of the enclosed conduit while maintaining subatmospheric air pressure within the bag. A replacement air intake inlet valve is positioned on the front or back panel to permit the ingress of ambient air into the bag while concomitantly preventing egress of air or particulate contents out of the bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,846, issued on May 27, 1997 to K. D. Ross, teaches a method of producing safety glove bags. Each of these bags has a sheet of flexible material having a centrally located opening and a lower debris collection and disposal bag that depends from the upper work section about the opening. Upon wrapping and securing the upper work section about a pipe with opposite ends thereof drawn upwardly thereto aside the opening, the work section is configured into a shape of a funnel for funneling debris worked from the pipe down into the collection and disposal bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,333, issued on Jun. 2, 1998 to J. D. Ross, shows another variation of U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,846 in which an elongated upper work section has a plurality of in-line lower debris collection and disposal bags depending therefrom. The upper work section has a bottom formed with a plurality of in-line chutes that extend between adjacent bags.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,396, issued on Jul. 28, 1998 to H. C. Israel, shows a glove bag for use in removing hazardous material from pipes. This glove bag includes a double-piece spreadable bag with a center portion that fits around the structure which is covered by asbestos. Flaps, glue and tape are used to seal the bag around the structure. Provision is made for the introduction of a wand for spraying the material with water.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,781, issued on Apr. 6, 1999 to M. Ryder, teaches a glove box which has a rigid frame. The frame has a first hollow face defining a drum-receiving portion that is tubular in shape and a second face that defines an outlet which is also tubular in shape. The remaining four faces of the frame are open and a flexible glove bag is shaped to fit over the frame covering the open faces and to be sealingly attached to the frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,252, issued on Nov. 21, 2000 to T. D. Browning, describes a glove box for cutting a hole in a ceiling. The glove box is a transparent container having a central aperture in the bottom. The aperture includes an inwardly extending ring having an outwardly extending flange for attaching a glove. The glove box is held by the user during use or may be supported on top of a telescoping pole.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,428,122, issued on Aug. 6, 2002 to Henry et al., describes a portable containment system that has a glovebox apparatus. The glovebox apparatus includes a first module for releasably covering a first sidewall opening. The glovebox also has a second modules for releasably covering a second sidewall opening.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0090174, published on May 15, 2003 to M. Ryder, describes a material transfer apparatus in which a tubular sleeve extends within a covering for accessing the material on the interior of the enclosure.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method which allows a glove bag to be applied to high-temperature piping.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method which avoids the release of asbestos during the installation of inspection ports.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method which facilitates the ability to carry out positive material identification and ultrasonic inspection of pipe.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for installing a re-enterable inspection port which allows for the installation with rope access and/or without scaffolding.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for installing an inspection port which requires only a minimum of personnel.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for installing an inspection, port which minimizes the requirements for the removal of asbestos from around the piping.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method for installing an inspection port which avoids shut down of the plant and process during the installation proceedings.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.